News on Turkey

News on Turkey

Turkey has reduced required limits for foreigners to acquire Turkish citizenship to encourage investment, according to new regulations published in the country's Official Gazette .

The lower limit of fixed capital investments to acquire Turkish citizenship for foreigners is reduced to $500,000 from $2 million.

Foreigners who own real estate in Turkey worth a minimum $250,000, instead of $1 million, can avail Turkish citizenship.

The deposit requirement of minimum $3 million in Turkish banks is also lowered to $500,000.

The regulation also covers foreigners who deposit a minimum of $3 million in Turkish banks. A similar regulation applies to those foreign investors who hold government-issued bonds worth at least $500 million which are not diversified for three years.

Foreigners who generate jobs for minimum 50 people, -- previous requirement was 100 people -- also will be able to take Turkish citizenship, the gazette said.

The Turkish economy grew 5.2 percent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2018, the country's statistical authority announced Monday.

The Q2 growth rate puts it at the top of the list of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) members and second among European countries who have announced their annual growth performances for the second quarter.

The total value added of the industrial sector increased 4.3 percent year-on-year and construction sector rose 0.8 percent. The added value of the services sector – which is comprised of trade, transport, accommodation and food service activities – increased by 8.0 percent. The total value added of the agricultural sector fell 1.5 percent in the second quarter year-on-year.

Household consumption expenditures increased by 6.3 percent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2018.

The final consumption expenditures of the state rose 7.2 percent, while gross fixed capital formation increased by 3.9 percent.

Exports of goods and services increased by 4.5 percent year-on-year and imports rose 0.3 percent in the second quarter.

Official data showed that the Turkish economy's growth rates were 11.5 percent in the third quarter last year, 7.3 percent in the last quarter of 2017, and 7.3 percent in the first quarter of this year.

Turkey's economy has recorded seven consecutive quarters of growth, since a quarter of decline following the failed coup attempt of July 2016.

Last Friday, the EU's statistical office Eurostat announced that the EU economy grew by 2.1 percent year-on-year in the April-June period.

Malta (5.7 percent), Poland (5 percent) and Hungary (4.6 percent) showed the top growth performances in the second quarter.

In the same period, Denmark recorded the lowest figure with 0.6 percent annual growth, while Italy and the U.K. saw 1.2 percent and 1.3 percent growth in their economies, respectively.

On Monday, TurkStat also announced that Turkey's independent annual GDP increased by 7.4 percent in 2017.

TurkStat stated that GDP by production approach rose by 19.1 percent year-on-year in 2017, and reached 3.1 trillion Turkish liras at current prices -- approximately $850 billion.

"In 2017, the manufacturing industry had the largest share [in GDP] with 17.6 percent," it said. "Manufacturing industry was followed by wholesale and retail trade and construction industry with 11.9 percent and 8.6 percent, respectively."

The institute noted that services of households as employers had the lowest share in GDP.

"The GDP per capita in 2017 was 38,680 Turkish liras and $10,602 at current prices," TurkStat added.

According to the Turkish Central Bank, the average U.S. dollar/Turkish lira exchange rate was 3.65 last year.

Tourist paradise Antalya welcomed more than 2 million tourists in June, including 1.94 million foreigners and 68,710 local tourists, according to Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism data yesterday.

The unflinching Turkish economy seems to have continued to grow with the support of foreign trade in the second quarter of the year, as well. Recent data show that national exports kept climbing whereas imports went down in a sharp manner in this period. This trend, in return, delivers an outlook in which net exports boost the GDP growth while putting a brake on the famous current account deficit in the economy.

Toyota Motor Manufacturing Turkey exported 116 percent more road vehicles in the first half of the year compared to the same period in 2013, the Turkish Automotive Manufacturers’ Association said on Monday.

The company exported more than 61,000 vehicles from its Turkey-based factory during the first half of the year, which made Toyota the third largest car exporter in the country, the association said in a statement.

After seeing 9.7 percent in March, Turkey’s unemployment has fallen to 9 percent in April, official figures released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) show.

The number of people out of work in Turkey has fallen by 168,000 in April to 2.57 million, the same level as at the end of last year. The figures come as inflation was recorded to have fallen to 9.16 percent in June.

Turkey will make nearly $10 billion from privatization of state sales if all of the most recent privatizations, including the national lottery sale for an over the top price, were approved by the government.

Turkey’s income from privatizations since the beginning of the year has exceeded expectations, approaching $10 billion with the recent privatization of a 10-year national lottery license that dazzled market by bringing in $2.76 billion for the state.

The 8th WIEF Roundtable took place in İstanbul in May 2014 and explored the challenges faced by Turkey in its pursuit to promote a more dynamic Islamic finance industry in the country. It also addressed key priority development areas for market players to methodically expand and deepen the Islamic finance sector’s ecosystem for a more sustainable industry. The World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) was established in 2006 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with the objective of facilitating business amongst the Muslim world, promoting and encouraging profits that would eventually flow down to much neglected peoples.

Turkish Airlines was named “Europe’s Best Airline Company” for the fourth consecutive year on Tuesday, according to Skytrax’s 2014 passenger evaluations. The airline, which offers “Flying Chef ” luxury meals to business class passengers on long flights, was described as having the “World’s Best Business Class Airline Catering” and the “World’s Best Business Class Airline Lounge Dining” in 2014. The awards were announced at the Farnborough Airshow, in Hampshire, southern England.

On Friday Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdoğan opened the high-speed train link between Ankara and Istanbul, his latest ambitious grand project to scale the country’s infrastructure up to European standards. The project has been repeatedly postponed because of sabotages but on Friday, Erdoğan traveled on the first train from Ankara to Istanbul with the line open to the general public from Saturday. “We made a promise. We worked hard. We crossed the mountains, and passed over rivers!” Erdoğan said at Eskisehir, one of several stops of the train. “Despite all sabotage attempts, blockade, and slowdown, we completed the line and opened it for service today.”

Turkey’s foreign trade deficit fell for the sixth-straight month, according to figures released Friday by the Turkish Statistical Institute. June’s deficit dropped to $7.8 billion (TL 16.3 billion) in June of this year from $8.6 billion in the same month last year, a fall of 8.8 percent, the Turkish Statistical Institute reported. The downward trend started in January and gained momentum after the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) introduced drastic interest rate hikes in response to the U.S. dollar’s rise against the Turkish lira in mid-January. Turkey’s Banking Authority imposed new measures to restrict private consumption and ease the current account deficit.

As Western countries decided to broaden the scope of sanctions against Russia, which includes financial restrictions, economy experts point to Turkey as the prospective destination of the capital outflows from Russia

Mark Lewis has been the IMF’s senior representative in Turkey since September 2010; however, his term in office recently ended. “I witnessed very important developments in Turkey during my duty here. Despite huge breakages in the global economy, Turkey’s economy proved its resistance to hits. In other words, it proved its adequacy. The economy displayed a good performance. I think Turkey’s economic policies are quite accurate, and the public finance and banking sectors are strong,” said Lewis who is leaving Turkey today. Lewis described his experience in Turkey as “exciting”.

The Chairman of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of Turkish Airlines (THY) Hamdi Topçu said that they are aiming to increase the number of passengers to 60 million.

Speaking to an AA reporter, Topçu said that the Turkish aviation industry has taken a leap in the last few years. In 2002, 26 airports were used in civil aviation and in 2014, this number increased to 52. “Passengers do not want to use their cars or buses for travels that will last longer than four hours. They want comfort. Flight tickets are sometimes even cheaper than bus tickets and our citizens try to benefit from this advantage as much as they possibly can” said Topçu.

Turkish Airlines’ (THY) passenger count for the January-July period increased by 15.2 percent, to 31 million.

THY’s number of passengers for 2014 January-July period has been increased by 15.2 reaching 31 million. According to 2014 January-July of THY’s traffic data published by Public Disclosure Platform; number of passengers at 2013 January-July period, which was 26.9 million, increased by 15.2 percent to 31 million for the same period of 2014. Number of passengers for domestic lines increased by 17.4 percent, international lines increased by 13.8 percent.

Unemployment rate in Turkey, which decreased by 0.2 percent in May, regressing the lowest amount in 10 months by 8.8 percent. Number of unemployed people, which was 2,570,000, regressed to 2,551,000. According to data published by Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK), unemployment rate stripped of seasonal impacts increased by 0.3 percent reaching 9.5 percent.

Economists agreed that the Turkish exporters can expand their businesses in Russian market thanks to Russia’s countersanctions against West.

Economısts of international finance institutions agreed that the Russian economy will suffer the most due to the import restrictions placed on food products form the EU and U.S. in response to their sanctions. It is predicted that Turkey’s exports will benefit from such restrictions “in a limited fashion.”

Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan announced the three-year road map for the Turkish economy. Those in charge of the Turkish economy, who revised their targets for the 2015 to 2017 period, decided to continue with tight monetary policies. The Deputy PM stressed the main priority will be to fight inflation. Other goals will be decreasing the current account deficit, implementing structural reforms and continuing with the current growth strategy. Babacan stated that the current growth target is 3.3 percent for this year with a slight improvement of 4 percent expected next year. The government hopes growth will be consistent at 5 percent for 2016 and 2017.

Delivering a statement about the national E1000 Type Electric Locomotive Project, Minister of Science, Industry and Technology Fikri Işık stated that Turkey’s State Railways (TCDD) has developed a one-megawatt-power electric locomotive to meet its shunting and short-haul load-carrying needs and that it will be fully operational in November.

Speaking at the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO), President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said, “We will start looking for oil in the western area of the Black Sea by next January.”

“We estimate that the general state budgetary deficit will be 0.8 percent, which is 0.3 point less than targeted,” Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek said, adding, “With this proportion, Turkey’s budget performed better than 25 out of 28 EU countries.”

Turkey’s defense industry is booming. Arms exports are on the up and the proportion of equipment in the armed forces made outside Turkey is falling every year. Turkey is now building its own UAVs, naval ships and even a main battle tank. But this drive for self-sufficiency could affect Turkey’s decades-old relationship with NATO and foreign suppliers.

ASELSAN and Bilkent University will lay the foundation of Turkey’s first microchip production facility in Ankara on December 24, 2014. At the foundation Thin and durable electronic materials for the defence, communication and energy sectors will be produced.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday pledged his support for the preservation of historical artifacts, saying that he would closely follow their restoration and revival both at home and abroad.

According to the Turkish Statistical Institute’s (TurkStat) recently released data, the country attracted some 41.4 million visitors during the last year, which spent an average of 828 USD per capita. The number of foreign visitors also registered an increase of 5.6 percent over a year earlier.

According to Global Metro Monitor 2014 report which is prepared by American research establishments, Brookings Institute and JP Morgan Chase, Istanbul is selected as the third fastest growing city in the world.

The General Directorate of the State Airports Authority of Turkey (DHİM) aims to increase the number of passengers, which was nearly 166 million last year, to 223 million in 2017 – a 34 percent rise. Also, it aims to increase flight traffic, which was 1.67 million last year, to 2.10 million – a 25 percent rise – in the same period. According to information complied by an Anadolu Agency reporter from a DHİM report, the total number of the passengers including transit flights increased by 12.4 percent from 166 million last year to 187 million this year. This figure is expected to increase by 9.8 percent to 205 million next year. The highest increase in 2017 will be in the number of domestic flights compared to last year.

Credit card payments will be available in cabs and minibuses in Istanbul. With a project to be initiated by İSPARK, the parking operator company owned by the Istanbul municipality, it would become possible to make payments by credit cards in cabs and mini buses in Istanbul. İSPARK’s project will include credit card payments into the electronic payment network of public transportation along with Istanbul Kart, and 18,000 cabs and 6,334 minibuses are included within the scope of the project.

The first Turkish-made seismic-survey vessel, named Turkuaz, has been launched from Istanbul on Saturday. Turkuaz, produced in a shipyard in Tuzla, Istanbul, for the Mineral Research and Exploration General Directorate at a cost of TL 300 million ($115 million) and launched on Saturday, will carry out climate change and ecological research as well as comprehensive underwater search activities using a remote-control system. Turkuaz, which began to be built in 2011, will serve for at least 30 years with a crew of 50 and has the capacity to operate uninterrupted for 35 days away from land.

Turkey’s gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 2.6 percent in the final quarter of 2014, resulting in 2.9 percent full-year growth, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) said in a statement released yesterday. Turkish economy succeeded in growing continuously for 21 quarters, and the announced growth rate for 2014 was above market expectations, which was around 2.7 percent average.

Ethical Boardroom has announced the winners of “Best Corporate Governance” in their respective industry sectors across Europe and Africa for 2015.

This year the airline industry was included in the reward program for the first time ever and Turkish Airlines has been recognized for the “Best Corporate Governance” in the airline industry in Europe.

The Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP), (Turkish: Trans-Anadolu Doğalgaz Boru Hattı) is a natural gas pipeline from Azerbaijan through Georgia and Turkey to Europe. It will be a central part of the Southern Gas Corridor, which will connect the giant Shah Deniz gas field in Azerbaijan to Europe through the South Caucasus Pipeline (SCP), TANAP and the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP).

According to the Tourism Support Package Report of the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies, Turkey hosted 38.6 million tourists last year, and steps are currently being taken to recover the loss of visitors from the Commonwealth of Independent States, mainly Russia, and Iran due to economic troubles in these countries. These 13 countries mean an income of $8 to $9 million for Turkey and over 10 million tourists.

Turkey’s national carrier; Turkish Airlines increases the number of routes in its network by adding new ones from Istanbul’s second airport; Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport. As of Monday, April 27, 2015 the carrier launches three new routes in Germany and Italy.

Turkish Airlines’ first quarter 2015 consolidated financial statements were reported to Borsa Istanbul. Compared to the first quarter of 2014, Turkish Airlines sales revenue increased by 6,4 percent, reaching a total of 5 billion 456 million TRY. Turkish Airlines disclosed an adjusted operating loss of 48 million TRY, outperforming the first quarter of 2014 by 75 percent and recorded 373 million TRY net profit during the lowest season of the aviation industry. Active risk management strategies and a balanced debt composition had an impact on these outstanding results.

Istanbul was picked as the city with most development in the world in last 5 years. According to research “The Business of Cities 2015″ by Jones Lang LaSalle, who provides financial and professional services on real estate, Istanbul, because of its performance since 2010, took first place as the city with most development.

A huge underground road tunnel being built underneath the sea in Istanbul is meters from being completed.

Istanbulites are hoping the enormous 14.6-kilometer (9 mile) Eurasia Tunnel Project linking Kazlıçesme on Istanbul’s European side and Göztepe in Asia will reduce the city’s notorious traffic levels.

The project, also known as the Istanbul Strait, could be completed ahead of schedule, Turkey’s deputy minister of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communication, Yahya Baş, has said.

Speaking at the tunnel’s construction site, Baş said: “The construction period is continuing very successfully. As we are counting the last meters, we will complete the project sooner than expected.”

The project, aiming to reduce congestion and relieve traffic density on the huge suspension bridges which cross the Bosphorus strait, is set to open in 2016.

Cars will pass through the tunnel in 15 minutes and the passage fare will be $4 for each vehicle.

“There are only 780 meters left to dig and complete the tunnel section under the sea” said project engineer Emin Karaman.

According to Karaman, approximately 2.5 km of the 3.4 km section of the tunnel under the sea is finished. “We have finished the land tunnels. The section of the tunnel under the sea is about to be completed.

Turkey’s capital Ankara will have a new rail terminal complex matching its size and importance, along with its central role in Turkey’s rail transport system, as of July 2016. The country’s Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications Minister, Feridun Bilgin, made the announcement on Wednesday.

A recent report released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation (OECD) and the World Bank have praised Turkey’s remarkable progress in education.

The “Universal Basic Skills” report stated that the education system in Turkey has shown remarkable improvement since 2003 in terms of better student performance and reduced inequality. Reducing the number of students per class and per teacher, providing free books and assigning guidance counselors for students have helped achieve greater academic success according to the report.

Turkish Airlines has been named the “Best Airline in Europe” for the fifth year in a row by Skytrax, which is recognized by the aviation industry for its global ranking system which tracks customer satisfaction of airlines service and performance around the world, the company said in a written statement on June 16.

House sales increased 6.5 percent in August compared to the same month of the previous year, and 112,463 were sold within the month. While Istanbul had the highest share as usual with 16.8 percent of house sales, most house sales were made to Iraqi citizens when looking at the nationality of the buyer. Ankara followed with 11.7 percent, totaling 13,139 house sales, and İzmir with 5.8 percent, totaling 6,490 house sales.

The High Tech Port by the Independent Industrialists and Businessmen Association (MÜSİAD) Qatar Fair, which is bringing together leading institutions from the Turkish and Qatari defense industries, and the 19th International Business Forum has started at the Qatar National Fair and Exhibition Center.

The fair is expected to create a trade volume of around $5 billion and has been marked by the success of Turkish engineering. With Turkuvaz Media Group as press sponsor, various recent local projects including the Atak helicopter, Altay tank, National Ship (MİLGEM), Göktürk-2 satellite, Kirpi, national infantry rifle and drones have been introduced in the fair.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Defense Minister Vecdi Gönül underlined the efforts of both Qatar and Turkey in ensuring peace, stability and security in the region. Also saying that this is the first time the fair is being held outside Turkey, Gönül deemed it a sign of the strong ties between the two countries. The fair supports investments to advanced technological products and brings consumers and investors together. With 57 firms with strategic abilities attending the fair, Gönül said it is a great opportunity to work together and that the activities of the Independent Industrialists and Businessmen’s Association (MÜSİAD) in Qatar is one of the best examples of exhibitions in high technology.

Deeming Qatar one of the most crucial players in the Middle East, Gönül praised the country’s efforts to ensure peace and stability in the region along with Turkey. “These two countries share historical and cultural similarities and have adopted similar principles regarding global peace. Qatar and Turkey are two countries that strive to ensure security and safety in the region,” Gönül added.

Domestic and international flight passengers in Turkey have grown 9.2 percent to reach 140.6 million flights within the first nine months of 2015 compared to the same period last year, official figures reveal.

Production of Turkish automotive industries broke the all time high record in September and reached 974,000 vehicles, according to the monthly report of Automotive Manufacturers Association (OSD) released on Wednesday. This figure was achieved despite a large scale strike in the automotive sector in May, and it was also the highest since the global crisis of 2008.

Turkey marked another election day on Sunday with stories of faith in democracy as senior citizens barely able to walk and patients on stretchers flocked to polling stations to elect the country’s next government.

Ended The Syrian artist, Mohamed Maher Heydari, Mushaf Ali Industry Sharif, carved his signs silk decorated, after 12 years of hard work and decided that the bidding him farewell in Turkey, rejecting an offer submitted to him by President Bashar al-Assad to buy the Quran Alfred 5 million dollars

The proportion of foreigners to buy in the forefront of the Arabs of housing in Turkey, or 19.5 percent between January and October of this year, compared with the same period of last year, to reach 18 thousand and 10,983 houses.

According to data issued from the Turkish Statistics, half of those houses sold to citizens from Iraq, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Russia.

The Turkish citizenship ” Yilmaz convert pips fruits of walnuts, to the artifacts and memorabilia great, using their skills in decision-making, antiques and gifts. Says Yilmaz, it thought to take advantage of the nut shells – which are usually used as fuel fireplace .In decision-making anything of value, can achieve income, instead of burning down. It says that it used many things before making the masterpieces and souvenirs, and other sea, but it is the first time that used the nut shells the which works since 17 years.

A questionnaire conducted on 720 of investors in the Middle East and the participants in the city skip world real estate in Dubai, that 83% of investors polled their views are considering investing in Turkey.

The European Union seeks to liberalize the entry visa to the European Union (schengen visa) with Turkey, in the month of October 1st of next year, in case Turkey fulfilled some conditions agreed upon in the road map, according to what came in the draft resolution the Turkish summit of the European summit in Brussels today.

The Commission decided to the monetary policy of the Central Bank of Turkey to maintain the key interest rates unchanged for the eighth month respectively, following its meeting today Wednesday, under the chairmanship of ardam Bashji, President of the Central Bank.

Site Revealed Distina “Dot Com”, famous specialist in the ticket hotels, flights through the Internet, today, Thursday, for directions to be taken by the travel industry in the Middle East this year to spend the holiday of Eid al-Adha.

Declared the World Conference of Islamic banks, in its twenty-second session, the victory of the bank “Finacne katelım Bankasi any.s”, won the prize of the best performance of the Islamic bank in Turkey.

The three banks a Turkish Islamic had nominated to win prizes of the Conference, the Bank of Asia, the National Bank of Kuwait to leave the participant, and finacne katelım Bankasi.

The Turkish economy, growth in the third quarter of 2015 more than expected, by 4%, where expectations indicate that the growth rate would be 2.8%.

“Bora Orders “, an economic expert at the bank of the Turkish Agriculture, that the Turkish economy is progressing at a steady pace toward high degrees of growth and economic prosperity, to achieve its development goals by 2023.

The Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge, the third bridge over the Bosporus in Istanbul, will begin service starting in April or May of 2016, said the Minister of Transport, Maritime and Communication Binali Yıldırım on Tuesday.

The strategic partnership between Turkey, as the most important country in the region, and Qatar, will help fill the void left by Russian sanctions, which in the end will hurt Russia the most economically, and benefit Doha’s regional interests On Dec. 1, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani signed a series of agreements in various fields from energy to defense. These agreements will play a crucial role in Turkey’s response to the vitriolic statements made by Russian authorities following Turkey downing a Russian military jet that had violate Turkish airspace despite being warned several times to exit it.

Local sources said Turkish, was signed on the outline for the establishment of the Cable Car line along ten kilometers, along the Bosphorus Strait, and between the continents of Asia and Europe.

The sources said that the establishment of the Cable Car line, who will reach the area between mecidiyekoy in the European side, camlica in the Asian side of Istanbul, will start next year, after the ratified the Istanbul municipality on the project plan within its budget for next year.

He said specialized in real estate sector, that Turkey aims to double the value of the real estate sold to foreigners, to reach 10 billion dollars this year, at the time when the value of five billion dollars last year.

The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality will implement a number of new initiatives to develog the city’s taxis to a better stage through a central control mechanism, making journeys safer and less exhausting Municipal officials of Istanbul are in the process of initiating a major push for reform in the country’s transportation sector to ensure that tourists and visitors to Turkey get a positive first impression of the country. Mindful of the fact that taxi drivers are usually the first people that foreign nationals encounter after landing at Turkey’s airports – and considering the nightmarish experiences expressed by travelers in travel blogs and books from across the globe – officials have decided that taxi services will be upgraded for locals and foreigners in 2016.

Turkey will never let another Qandil [terrorist headquarters belonging to the PKK] form on its southern border, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Wednesday, while he slammed Russia, the U.S. and the Assad regime for openly supporting the PYD, recognized as a terrorist organization by Ankara.

Head of the Consumer Law Institute Arabic Real Estate Investment Commission, Hüseyin Sami Çaprak stated that 10,683 pieces of real estate was sold to Arabs in 2015, the number is nearly half of the entire sales made to foreigners in that year.

The success of Turkish Airlines, the country’s national flag carrier, has become a case study at Harvard Business School (HBS), one of the world’s most prestigious institutions.

The case study called “Turkish Airlines: Widen Your World” explored the company’s transformation from a regional actor to a global powerhouse in the international aviation industry and discussed its fast and profitable growth in the sector.

An Arabic book fair opened here on Friday, meeting an urgent demand of Syrian refugees being sheltered in Turkey.

“With this international fair, we aim to embrace Syrian refugees who found refuge in Turkey and grant them the Arabic publications that they have long needed,” said Cezmi Akgul, manager of Turkey’s Semerkand publishing house and organizer of the fair.

Presidential Spokesperson İbrahim Kalın on Friday said that Turkey’s national security cannot be a matter of negotiations, underscoring that Turkey will adopt all legitimate measures to ensure its security.

Speaking at a press conference in Ankara, Kalın said that Turkey is ready to negotiate all issues with its allies, but will never negotiate its national security and will respond to any threats in line with its rules of engagement.

Fitch Ratings affirmed Turkey’s sovereign rating at BBB-, the lowest investment grade rating, with a stable outlook on Friday, noting that fiscal discipline remained in place in 2015 despite two parliamentary elections.

The Atatürk International Airport, which serves as Turkey and Istanbul’s main gateway to the world, was awarded for improving its service quality the most in Europe by the votes of hundreds of thousands of passengers.

Turkey’s exports have increased slightly in February compared with the same period last year after 14 months of decline due to EUR/USD parity, the Exporters’ Assembly of Turkey (TIM) reported on Tuesday.

Foreign trade deficit decreased by 13.4 percent from $4.3 to $3.8 billion in January 2016 when compared to January 2015, according to data released jointly by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) and the Ministry of Customs and Trade. Thus, in January, exports were $9.6 billion with a 22 percent decrease, and imports were $13.4 billion with a 19.7 percent decrease compared to January 2015. Exports coverage imports were at 71.8 percent in January compared to 73.9 percent the same month of last year.

Arban Çitak, the head of French rail transport vehicle producer Alstom’s Turkish unit, said that the company will bid in a tender that Turkey is scheduled to hold in the middle of this year with the purpose of purchasing 80 high-speed trains. The company plans to invest 100 million euros in a facility where it will produce the high-speed vehicles if it wins the tender.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 6th International Railway and Light Rail Systems, Infrastructure and Logistics Fair in Istanbul about the planned route of Kanal Istanbul, Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications Minister Binali Yıldırım said: “We are currently working on five routes for Kanal Istanbul. In the next few months, all the planning work will be completed, and we will announce the final route of the channel.”

Construction of the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge, which began in May 29, 2013, now unites the Asian and European sides of the Bosporus for the third time, as the last 9-meter segment was installed today. The bridge cost nearly $3 billion and is a critical section of the Northern Marmara Motorway.

Turkey’s current account deficit was announced at $1.79 billion for February, a fall of more than $1.5 billion year-on-year, according to balance of payments statistics released by the Central Bank of Republic of Turkey (CBRT) yesterday.

In his closing speech at the 13th Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) Summit Conference on Friday, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that Muslims should be able to solve their own problems without resorting to outside assistance. “Why are we expecting others to solve the problems of Muslims? We should be able to solve our own problems. The OIC shall be there for eventual purpose.”

The last bridge deck for the İzmit Bay Bridge, which has become the fourth longest suspension bridge with the largest central span in the world, was installed Thursday in a ceremony attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, Transportation, Maritime Affairs and Communication Minister Binali Yıldırım and Science, Industry and Technology Minister Fikri Işık.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said late Thursday that Muslims have to fight against sectarianism and protect their children and the youth against terrorism and extremist ideologies, asserting that Islam harshly rejects terrorism of any kind.

The record deal between Turkish Airlines and world-famous aircraft manufacturer Boeing will include six 777-300ERs and 20 new-generation 737-800 aircraft. Along with their inclusion in the Turkish Airlines fleet, Boeing will deliver a record number of aircrafts to Turkey from its factory in Seattle.

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